Video game guidelines for teens

Parents who just decides themselves about the impact of video games on their teenagers and younger children, and everybody worries about the violent content, the sexual content, was is ti doing to their brains? Well, we have actually broken it into 2 different groups of games. There are games that are actually phenomenal for developing teen brains, a problem solving games, a perceptual challenge games one called portal that the kids, young teenagers really like even though you don't kill anybody in the game. So it is a phenomenal thing that help that brain to organize better. What about the violent games? Do they make kids violent? No, almost never. But they do something that maybe even worse, what they do is that they dis sensitize teens to real violence. Only study this into play lots of violent video games, when we show them real violence they get passive, there is a situation in California few years, where a girl is being gang-raped in front of a crowd of 40 or 50 people and we actually studied those tapes. No one called 911, no one intervene to help for the longest time, I think for 16 to 17 mins. We looked at the faces of the young people in the crowd and they were passive, they weren't cheering, they weren't into it, they were passive as if they were watching a movie. And that has been held up, research after research piece. You are teaching a child to not react to violence, the brains don't activate the way they should and that is dangerous. So with the violent video games, the small amounts of time if a child shows any violent tendencies, with language or aggression mood, you say again your not old enough for this, we are going to hang the game up for awhile, we'll try again for a few moments.

Michael J. Bradley, EdD

Psychologist, Author & Speaker

Michael J. Bradley, EdD, award-winning author, has counseled adolescents and their parents for over 30 years and currently has a private practice in suburban Philadelphia. As a recognized specialist in adolescent behavior and parenting, Dr. Bradley is in demand as a speaker and facilitator for mental health professionals, educators, and parenting groups. He has appeared on over 400 radio and television shows, including CNN, The Today Show and Good Morning, America, and has been interviewed by numerous magazines and newspapers such as USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Parents Magazine. His website forum is a great source of advice and encouragement to parents.

Parents who just decides themselves about the impact of video games on their teenagers and younger children, and everybody worries about the violent content, the sexual content, was is ti doing to their brains? Well, we have actually broken it into 2 different groups of games. There are games that are actually phenomenal for developing teen brains, a problem solving games, a perceptual challenge games one called portal that the kids, young teenagers really like even though you don't kill anybody in the game. So it is a phenomenal thing that help that brain to organize better. What about the violent games? Do they make kids violent? No, almost never. But they do something that maybe even worse, what they do is that they dis sensitize teens to real violence. Only study this into play lots of violent video games, when we show them real violence they get passive, there is a situation in California few years, where a girl is being gang-raped in front of a crowd of 40 or 50 people and we actually studied those tapes. No one called 911, no one intervene to help for the longest time, I think for 16 to 17 mins. We looked at the faces of the young people in the crowd and they were passive, they weren't cheering, they weren't into it, they were passive as if they were watching a movie. And that has been held up, research after research piece. You are teaching a child to not react to violence, the brains don't activate the way they should and that is dangerous. So with the violent video games, the small amounts of time if a child shows any violent tendencies, with language or aggression mood, you say again your not old enough for this, we are going to hang the game up for awhile, we'll try again for a few moments.